Demand for computing systems, such as embedded and general-purpose computers, continues to increase as these computing systems are being used for an increased number of purposes. As a direct consequence, energy efficiency and performance of computing systems have become increasingly important. For example, mobile devices that rely on limited power supplies, such as batteries, may not sustain performance of complex, processor-intensive applications that may rapidly reduce the availability of such power supplies. As another example, processes performed by general-purpose computers may be constrained due to the amount of heat generated by their processors, which may also limit the number and/or type of processes that may be performed by general-purpose computers.
Existing techniques aimed at addressing energy efficiency and performance concerns have sought improvements in level one data cache (L1 DC) management. While these techniques utilize data filter caches (DFCs) in an effort to reduce energy usage, the manner in which data filter caches are used is deficient in a number of ways. For example, transferring an entire line of data between an L1 DC to a DFC in a single cycle may increase the area of the L1 DC and the energy required to access it, among other unintended consequences. Another deficiency may stem from the belief that data filter caches are impractical because they typically incur an execution time penalty for each filter cache miss. Such deficiencies have limited existing techniques that attempt to improve energy efficiency and performance of computing systems.
Certain implementations will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various implementations and/or aspects are shown. However, various aspects may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.